Three killed, including schoolboy, after tree falls on three-wheeler in Nawalapitiya

Three people, including a schoolboy, have been killed after a large tree fell onto a moving three-wheeler in Mapakanda, Nawalapitiya this morning (04).

Police said the incident occurred at around 6:45 a.m. when the vehicle, travelling from Mapakanda towards Nawalapitiya town, was struck by a large eucalyptus tree that had collapsed from beside the main road.

The victims were identified as a schoolboy, his mother and a woman. The three-wheeler driver survived the crash.

Officers from the Nawalapitiya Police, assisted by area residents, later removed the bodies trapped beneath the fallen tree and transferred them to the Nawalapitiya District General Hospital.

Area residents claimed that the tree had been in a decayed condition for some time and that authorities had previously been alerted to remove it, but no action had been taken.

Nawalapitiya Police are conducting further investigations into the incident.